Monday, September 15, 2008

N.T. Wright Interview

Trevin Wax, in November of last year, actually sat down with the Bishop of Durham for a lengthy interview, largely revolving around New Perspectives on Paul theology. I'm just now sitting down to read the interview at length, and found it very well done.

I must confess to a certain obsession with NPP. I certainly admire the desire to place all of Holy Writ in its historical context. Even if that means going against the status quo: since many in evangelical Christendom often see the Bible as though it were written in a vacuum, and dropped from the sky (a somewhat pagan notion, in my opinion: see the statue of Artemis in Acts 19). If we're going to champion an "historical/grammatical hermeneutic," we need to be consistent. And I can honestly say I've learned much from my study of NPP (both pro and con).

That being said, I have serious reservations about NPP, especially in regards to the doctrines of Justification, Eternal Security, and Imputation. One need exercise great discernment when opening up such material.

Nonetheless, I believe this interview with Tom Wright - aside from further revealing his winsome, likable character - allows the man to condense things in an easily digestible way for the casual reader. If your exposure to NPP is limited, this would probably be a good place to start.